Saturday, February 16, 2013

February 16, 2013 - PACIFIC RING OF FIRE - A magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck off New Zealand's North Island this afternoon. The US Geological Survey reported it was centred 205 kilometres deep and about 300 kilometres north-east of Auckland.

USGS Earthquake map and location for New Zealand.

USGS Estimated Fatalities and Economic Losses for New Zealand.

The tremor, which stuck about 5:15pm (local time) was not widely felt and there are no reports of damage or injury. A shallow magnitude-6.3 quake devastated Christchurch in February last year, leaving 185 people dead. New Zealand is on the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year. - ABC News.

USGS Earthquake intensity map for New Zealand.

USGS Earthquake intensity map for New Zealand.

Magnitude-6 Quakes Hit Offshore In Philippines, New Zealand.

Earthquakes measuring magnitude-6 or
stronger struck near the southern Philippines and New Zealand
today, the latest of more than 200 temblors this week along the
so-called Rim of Fire.

USGS Earthquake map and location for the Philippines.

USGS Estimated Fatalities and Economic Losses for the Philippines.

A magnitude-6.0 quake struck 240 kilometers (150 miles)
northeast of Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island, while a
temblor measured at magnitude-6.2 hit 28 kilometers southeast of
Caburan on the Philippine island of Mindanao, according to
reports on the website of the U.S. Geological Survey. Today’s offshore quakes presented no tsunami danger,
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director
Renato Solidum said by telephone today, and no warnings were
issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The Rim of Fire, an arc of tectonic plate interfaces that
circle the Pacific Ocean from Chile to New Zealand, experienced
16 earthquakes rated “significant” by the USGS in the past 30
days, according to the agency’s website. The USGS lists seven
magnitude-9.0 or greater quakes of “general historic interest”
since 856 AD -- all within that arc.

USGS Earthquake intensity map for the Philippines.

Population Exposure for the Philippines.

Seismic activity has led to as many as half a million
deaths in the region in recent years, including more than
280,000 killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004,
90,000 in a May 2008 quake in China’s Sichuan province, and
20,000 in the wake of Japan’s March 2011 disaster. New Zealand yesterday agreed to buy 47 properties in the
heart of Christchurch as the country’s oldest city begins to
rebuild from a February 2011 quake that killed more than 140
people.

One year ago, the Philippines was hit by an earthquake that
killed at least 48 people and triggered landslides that left
dozens more missing. That magnitude-6.8 quake struck the Negros
and Cebu region, damaging bridges and roads and shutting
offices, schools and malls - Bloomberg.